On loan Mamelodi Sundowns star Thembinkosi Lorch scored his maiden Club World Cup goal on Sunday as his team Wydad Athletic Club fell 4-1 against Juventus in Group G of the Fifa Club World Cup.
It was the second consecutive loss for the Botola Pro League outfit, who had fallen 2-0 against English heavyweights Manchester City in their initial game. Wydad Casablanca are now eliminated, which means their final game in the pool, against Al Ain, will be a dead rubber.
Despite his good showings against the Citizens and the Old Lady of Turin, respectively, ‘Nyoso' insists his main work is to help the team deliver. He argues that individual achievements matter not if the collective objective has not been realised.
‘Loss requires an apology to the team's fans'
“We benefited greatly from this match. We learned a lot against a fiercely competitive team with close lines that made our task very difficult,” the former Orlando Pirates attacker opened up to the media.
“Unfortunately, we lost, and our chances of qualifying diminished. This requires an apology to the team's fans.
“The goal was not to lose this match, but that happened. Juventus put us in the picture and what we need to do in the future to improve. I am very happy with my goal against a big club in Europe, but the goal is always the group, not individual achievements,” Lorch concluded.
It is interesting to see whether Sundowns will recall the 31-year-old once his loan deal with the North African outfit concludes at the end of the month. With Bafana Bafana also in action in September in the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers as well as the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
